If there’s one trend set to define the next few years of recreational vehicles, it’s figuring out how to integrate the worlds of towing and electricity. Any brand that can enable EVs to tow more efficiently could be poised to dominate the RV market for years to come.
Guiding Light
One of the upstart entrants into this scrum is Lightship, a start-up RV builder that’s uniquely dedicated to only building electric trailers and other camper varietals.
The Lightship L1.Lightship
Lightship is fresh off a $34 million fundraising round, as it announced earlier this year. But just as impressive as the amount of cash they’ve raked in is who they’re pulling it in from.
Lightship raised millions from investors that included Thor Industries, the parent company of Airstream.Lightship
Tow the Line
Lightship’s L1 camping trailer uses a couple different techniques to help make towing a lighter lift for pickup trucks and SUVs. Much like the Pebble Flow, the L1 packs its own built-in electric motors to reduce rolling resistance and ease the burden on the tow vehicle.
In compacted mode, the L1 is roughly as tall as an F-150 Lightning, as seen here.Lightship
The top half of the walls retracts down and the roof lowers for transport, reducing the frontal area and thus cutting down drag. Lightship claims the L1 is three times as aerodynamic as conventional travel trailers.
The battery can power the appliances for up to seven days.Lightship
The L1 offers 40 kWh and 80 kWh battery pack configurations, giving it enough power to help support the tow vehicle for up to 300 miles of driving — or, on the flip side, run all the appliances and amenities while off the grid for up to seven days.
An integral solar panel array delivering up to 3 kW of power can recharge the battery, given there’s enough sunlight to do so.
The solar-paneled roof offer 3 kW of power.Lightship
Interior Motive
Those retracting upper walls are filled with giant windows, which gives the interior an airiness and lightness not often found in camping trailers. (Luckily, there appear to be shades for when you’re seeking privacy at the campground.)
The expansive array of windows make claustrophobia unlikely … assuming as you’re not stuck in there when it’s being towed in Road Mode.Lightship
Inside, there’s sleeping space for four to six, according to the brand; however, any more than two campers will probably need to be very comfortable with teenage-slumber-party-style sleeping arrangements. The beds — which convert out of the lounge area’s couch and the kitchen table — are effectively one giant oddly shaped mattress.
The floor plan of the Lightship L1.Lightship
There’s a kitchen with a stovetop, oven (presumably convection), sink and even a dishwasher inside. There’s also a slide-out camp kitchen that deploys from the side of the vehicle and runs off the internal power, much like you can buy for a Rivian R1T. In back, there’s a full bathroom, albeit of the wet-bath variety.
Thanks in no small part to that new $34 million in funds, Lightship says the L1 is on track to enter production later this year at the brand’s new facility in Broomfield, Colorado.
The L1 will enter production this year.Lightship
If it can live up to its promise, we might be on the verge of the biggest technological revolution in RVing since the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle.
